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Community water planner field guide project

Reach:

National

Focus area:

Indigenous

Status:

Current

Evaluated:

Yes

Overview

The Community water planner field guide project is specifically for water managers, service providers, and Indigenous organisations working with remote communities to plan and implement water management programs for settlements with small water supplies.

This project includes a field guide that includes an instruction booklet and a series of posters and activity worksheets to direct a water planning program. The project also involves workshops that are conducted to introduce Indigenous people to the main concepts of water risk management, and to provide them with training on how to apply the principles in the guide practically.

The project was evaluated through a workshop processes and several recommendations for improvement were made, including:

enhancing current investments in Indigenous community water supplies with water management planning processes

developing a national program that contains identified water planning positions and funding to support its implementation.

The project package is generic and can be adapted to suit almost any type of water supply. The principles within the field guide are consistent with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and apply the risk management approach to water supplies outlined in the Framework for the Management of Drinking Water Quality.

The National Water Commission created the project in collaboration with Water Quality Research Australia and the Centre for Appropriate Technology.